MissabemodelerI have several Concor & IHC passenger cars. They all have horn hook style couplers. I want to change them to knuckle type couplers. I believe Kadee are probably best. Can anyone tell me what length or number of coupler is best to use & would I need new draft gear or wheel sets. Thank you for any info.
Kadee makes special conversion kits (800 series?) that retain the truck mounting of the couplers.
Yes, and yes.
Get rid of the horn-hooks and replace them with Kadees. I like the #58 couplers, personally, but others prefer the "whisker" couplers with built-in centering springs or the venerable #5s. All will fit in the same draft gear boxes, which may be glued or screwed into place. This may entail some removal of the old coupler pockets.
I've got a lot of very old rolling stock, and a few engines, that I bought as a teenager back in the 1950s and 60s. I've been able to put Kadees on everything I've tried, and they work pretty much perfectly.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Go to the Kadee site and then click on conversions. They have a listing or replacement couplers, by manufacturer and car type. For locos they even have a section that shows what you have to do, should you need to do more than a simple coupler switch.
Good luck,
Richard
I have several Concor & IHC passenger cars. They all have horn hook style couplers. I want to change them to knuckle type couplers. I believe Kadee are probably best. Can anyone tell me what length or number of coupler is best to use & would I need new draft gear or wheel sets. Thank you for any info.